- Malcolm gets a job at a drug store.
- He becomes friends with a smart high school student named Laura.
- Then he tells her that his dream was to become a lawyer and Laura gives him support that he needs.
- Laura is a great dancer but because her grandmother is strict she must fight to get out and dance.
- They go to a dance-off and win over the crowd and Duke Ellington.
- Malcolm soon fancies a white woman named Sophia.
- He then later dances with her and dumps Laura.
- Malcolm keeps Sophia as a status symbol.
- Because she is white and attractive he becomes popular at night clubs and bars.
- Then his half sister Ella disapproves so he moves to his best friends house Shorty.
- After years past he hears about Laura breaking away from her grandmother.
- Laura later then starts doing drugs and becomes a prostitute.
- He later regrets himself for her falling out with her grandmother and ruining her life.